MW Higher car prices help AutoNation beat sales and profit estimates, and its stock is rising

By Steve Gelsi

Revenue rises and beats Wall Street estimates for a third straight quarter despite tariff worries

AutoNation Inc.'s stock rose in early trading Friday after the car seller topped Wall Street's second-quarter profit estimates, as customers shrugged off higher prices and drove up sales.

The higher revenue mostly reflected increased new vehicle unit sales and higher average new vehicle selling prices, the company said.

The stock (AN) climbed 1.5% in premarket trading. Through Thursday, it had pulled back 6.8% since closing at a record $214.83 on July 10, but was still up 0.8% on the month and up 17.9% in 2025. The S&P 500 index SPX has gained 8.2% this year.

AutoNation's second-quarter net income fell 34% to $86.4 million, or $2.26 a share, from $130.2 million, or $ 3.20 a share, in the year-ago quarter.

Adjusted earnings of $5.46 a share beat the FactSet consensus estimate of $4.70 a share.

Revenue rose 8% to $6.97 billion, ahead of the analyst estimate of $6.86 billion.

Chief Executive Mike Manley cited increased market share in new vehicles and said gross profit increased by 40 basis points (4 percentage points) as a percentage of revenue after a "strong performance" in the quarter.

Same-store revenue, or revenue from stores open more than a year, increased by $521 million to $6.9 billion as sales of new vehicles increased to 65,334 units from 60,608 units.

Among the company's major business lines, new-vehicle revenue jumped 9% to $3.4 billion, used-vehicle revenue increased by 4% to $2 billion and after-sales revenue climbed 12% to $1.2 billion. Customer-financial-services revenue increased by 13% to $363 million.

AutoNation's stock was in the spotlight during the second quarter as tariffs came into play and investors pondered the impact on prices and sales. The biggest worry remains an economic slowdown, which would affect car sales.

Used-car prices increased in the auto sector, as consumers pivoted away from the perceived tariff risk of buying new cars.

Also read: Used-car sellers should benefit from tariffs - here's why the stocks are down

-Steve Gelsi

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July 25, 2025 08:05 ET (12:05 GMT)

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